Superheated steam, produced by the addition of heat after evaporation, is widely used in power generation due to the increased thermodynamic efficiency and also due to the prevention of heat loss and damage to components, such as turbine blades, that would have resulted from condensation. Recently other industrial applications for superheated steam have been established, including the cleaning and food processing industries. As a result of pressurized superheated vapor, an improved cleaning action may be effected by weakening the bond between contaminants and the associated surfaces.
While not limited thereto, the present invention introduces a novel method to generate superheated steam. The intensity of the generated superheated steam, i.e. its pressure, temperature and velocity, enables the usage thereof for the operation of a steam ejector to be used in a high-energy chemical laser system.
In a chemical laser, a steady stream of population-inverted active molecules is produced dun the course of a exothermic chemical reaction. Many chemical lasers require mechanical pumps and rotary blowers to compress the working gases and diluents found in the opt cavity to ambient pressure for discharge. U.S. Pat. No. 8,879,680 issued to Naismith et al precludes the need for such expensive equipment and discloses a high velocity jet of gaseous combustion products which is injected into a low pressure chemical laser system The high velocity jet provides an aspirator action which pumps the low pressure gaseous effluent from the optical cavity and is entrained therein. Insofar as this method requires a steady stream of high-velocity hot steam or gas in order to provide the energy needed to evacuate the gaseous by-products that are generated during the chemical laser operation, there are a few ways to achieve the desired fluid mass flow rate:    a) Compressed Gas. Compressed gas stored within containers is provided with a sufficient amount of kinetic energy when expanded to ambient pressure so as to entrain the chemical laser effluent. This method requires large storage volume.    b) Flash Evaporation. Hot water stored with a container at a high pressure is converted to steam by flash evaporation. This method also requires a large system volume, and additionally, requires a long response time from boiler startup until steam generation.    c) Conventional Steam Generator: Hydrocarbon fuels are combustible with air, releasing heat at a sufficiently rapid rate to thereby generate steam This method is slow, and requires a large steam generation facility.    d) Catalytic Conversion of Hydrogen Peroxide. Catalysts are used to decompose hydrogen peroxide into steam and oxygen. This method is effective, but requires a special grade of hydrogen peroxide having a relatively high concentration and a relatively small amount of stabilizers to prevent catalyst poisoning, i.e. the generation of a coating an the catalyst which would disable decomposition In addition to steam, a large amount of oxygen is produced. Oxygen reacts with some of the laser by-products of deuterium and hydrogen, thereby generating excessive heat and resulting in thermal choking within the suction chamber of the ejector that reduces the performance thereof. Furthermore, the oxygen is not utilized for secondary combustion, and the efficiency of the process is therefore necessarily lowered.
Attempts have been made to produce steam from the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and to utilize its relatively high energy density. Catalysts such as solid silver catalysts have been used to promote the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to yield not just steam, but also oxygen, which is combustible with alcohol based fuels such as methanol or ethanol. These silver catalysts have the disadvantage of having only a relatively short effective life due to the rapid loss of silver, and have to be replaced approximately every 15 minutes of operation to ensure complete decomposition and quick response. U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,146 discloses a new type of catalyst consisting of a mixture of ruthenium with iridium and/or platinum. In addition to the high costs associated therewith, the disadvantages of using catalysts for steam production include a need for a special grade of hydrogen peroxide that contains a small amount of stabilizers. Furthermore, high-grade hydrogen peroxide presents a short storage life.
All the methods described above have not yet provided satisfactory solutions to the production of superheated steam from hydrogen peroxide.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for the production of superheated steam from hydrogen peroxide which does not require the use of a catalyst.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for the production of superheated steam from industrial grade hydrogen peroxide that does not require the removal of stabilizers therefrom.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for the production of superheated steam from hydrogen peroxide that does not present a safety hazard.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for the cost-effective production of superheated steam.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for the production of a relatively large amount of superheated steam.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for the production of superheated steam within a short response time.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for the production of superheated steam which allows for the entrainment of the gaseous effluent from the optical cavity of a chemical laser without resulting in thermal choking within the ejector.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.